The holiday seasons always inspire deep reflection for me. Work tends to be slower so it's a good time to recover and recharge. It also allows me to step back and take stock of the year as a whole.
2019 was a year of recalibration for me. I have experienced so much evolution every year of my photo journey but 2019 felt the most significant yet. I turned 40 too...so that probably had something to do with it! A review of my other work and life transitions:
Physical
I moved out of and into two photo studio shares. I also helped my mentor move her studio.
Time lapse of moving out of our studio share in January 2019. Then I did it again in May.
Professional
I cut my assisting in half from 2018 to make more time to work with my own clients and to nurture my business. I photographed for awesome clients and continued building my portfolio. I finally stopped taking classes at City College of San Francisco (CCSF)! It was increasingly stressful to juggle classes and do the coursework as I got busier, although if I could, I would be a forever student.
A documentary short produced for my film production class at City College of San Francisco in 2018. Selected for and screened at the City College City Shorts Student Film Festival and CCSF Festival of the Moving Image in 2019. I’d love to build my reel so please get in touch if you have a project in mind!
Infrastructural
When things were slow, I tried not to worry and focused on the back end of my business: improving my back up system, getting better insurance, planning and implementing marketing, and outsourcing my bookkeeping and taxes!
Intuitional
It's a word! I looked it up. Being self-employed means I wear many hats (reference the infrastructural section again!) and have to manage not just my business, but how I invest my time and energy. I was overwhelmed and tired a lot this year so I worked on being much more intentional about the choices I made from the professional to personal. I practiced checking in with and acting upon my intuition more. I leaned heavily towards creating space for more self-care, inspiration, and fun. The photo below is from the all of those categories, aka travel!
While this year's multiple and often overlapping changes were not always fun or easy in the moment, I am celebrating the following accomplishments:
earning a little more income, and despite increased business and living expenses, being able to reinvest in my retirement, set aside money for taxes, and save for a rainy day!
traveling more! I took myself to Hawai'i for the first time and definitely not the last time. The trade off of being my own boss is that I have more autonomy and flexibility with my schedule but less certainty with work and stability with income.
continuing to create a life that I love and cultivate a wonderful and eclectic community of colleagues and clients who are creatives, change makers, and entrepreneurs.
Intentions for 2020 as I evolve personally and professionally:
grow my business, specifically, working with local family/woman-owned business clients to tell their stories with beautiful still and motion pictures.
keep up with my e-newsletter marketing once a month and other marketing efforts.
collaborate more with industry professionals to create images for our books and submit to portfolio reviews and competitions. I'm aiming for one test shoot a month.
get out into nature more, especially exploring the beautiful area I live in, at least once a month for a day hike.
more travel, more travel, more travel. Internal (meditation) and external, domestic and international. I have a few friends I need to visit!
Thank you for helping make 2019 great!
Happy New Year and New Decade!
Just a few of my favorite images from client work this year. I'll be highlighting more of that work in coming months! Be the first to get these updates in your inbox. Sign up for my monthly e-newsletter here.